Connecting band between articles of clothing or parts of them

ABSTRACT

The invention realizes a connecting band between garments covering the upper and lower part of the body, that will close on itself and be secured to a garment or a part of it. A bearing number of protruding tabs ( 2 ) can be attached in a removable way to at least one of said garments or part of it by means of pressure fastenings present in the tabs.

The invention concerns a band or connecting belt between articles ofclothing or parts of them covering the upper and lower part of the bodyrespectively.

It is well known that there are articles of clothing, such as overalls,that can cover both the upper and the lower part of the body givingcompact covering and protection to the body itself. Motorcycle overallsshould be mentioned specifically since they can be separated by means ofa perimetrical fastener connecting the pants to the jacket, and by meansof which a rigid type of connection is made.

There are also other kinds of overalls such as those for work or similarpurposes where jacket and pants cannot be separated, consenting only anopening large enough to put on the overalls.

The inventor is not acquainted with overalls or other articles ofclothing that can be connected in their upper or lower part, at the sametime adjustable in fit, in the sense that they can be adjusted todifferent persons and needs. More specifically, the inventor does notknow of overalls in which jacket and pants can be adjusted one to theother in such a way as to vary the distance between crotch and waist, orat any rate between jacket and pants. DE-A-3228720 discloses a specialzip-fastener connection between jacket and trousers in a suit formotorcyclists in which continuous pressure fastenening means areprovided in said zip-fastener to connect said clothes.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,806 discloses an infant garment band including aplurality of fastener members extending above and below the band forsecurement of a tee shirt and a diaper.

FR-A-2682568 discloses a device to secure garments worn on the lowerhalf of the body to be attached to garment worn of the top of the bodywherein each garment is attached diretly to another garment.

In particular, according to the technique used in motorcycle overallselasticized parts have been designed giving adherence to the body of theuser and providing perimetrical connection by means of a fastener thatjoins the pants to the jacket also with an elastic band which howeverdoes not consent extensive tolerance in size, especially as regards theperson's height.

A further limit limit in present technique is the difficulty of adaptingthe overalls to different uses, while remaining within the main use,such as spots, for instance.

We mention as an example the case of motorcyclist overalls that may havedifferent size requirements according to whether the motorcyclist isdriving a sports motorcycle with low handlebar or one with highhandlebars. Obviously the need for size adaptability and of theoveralls' reaction to body adherence is different in the two instances,but normal overalls do not suit these different requriements, andtherefore the only way of wearing the same overalls and using them inthese two different situations is to buy a slightly larger size so thatit can be naturally adjustable to the two positions.

Another limit of present technique is to prevent adjustment of the samesize to different people. That is to say, overalls that are of aspecific size—say large-used by a person of a specific height cannot beworn with an equal fit by a shorter person or vice versa.

In other words, according to present technique each person needs to wearhis own size and overalls cannot be lent or used by other persons.

The purpose of this invention is to overcome the limits of presenttechnique. In particular it is the purpose of this invention to create acomposite garment made up of jacket and pants with high adaptability tothe situations for which it is used, as well as to the persons using it.

Another purpose of the invention is to make it possible to modifylength, angle and joint of the jacket sleeve, just to meet the differentsize requirements of people with more or less long and more or lessheavy arms and shoulders.

In substance the point is to obtain a range of fit with essentiallyunvaried garment comfort that can be extended to different personswearing different sizes, and to different situations.

The invention also aims at reducing the number of suit sizes in order tolower amounts in stock, and in fact the possibilities of use of the samesize by a greater number of consumers would be increased.

The a above mentioned purposes, and others that will be brought outfurther on, are attained by means of a connecting band between garmentscovering the upper and lower parts of the body, such as jackets andpants, or only the upper part, such as jackets with sleeves. This bandwhich closes on itself and is secured to one garment or part of one,and, according to its primary purpose, is characterized by bearing anumber of tabs protruding obliquely to the longitudinal axis of saidband, suitable for fastening and unfastening to at least one of saidarticles of clothing or part of it by means of snap fasteners located onsaid tab and articles of clothing.

According to the invention this connecting band which can be fastened toone of the two garments, for instance pants or jacket , by means ofeasily removable fastening devices such as Velcro®, widens the range offit of the overalls to great advantage by allowing easy mutual approachand removal of two articles of clothing—the jacket or the pants—at thewaistline. Furthermore, a so-called “sliding” backward and forwardeffect is obtained, since the mutual fastening of jacket and pants canbe adjusted to various positions: for instance, forward approaching andbackward removing, in order to meet different requirements.

The band of the invention can also be used to alter the joining of thesleeves to the jacket, thus adjusting—by positioning the sleevesdifferently—the size of the shoulders and the length, angle and joint ofthe sleeves to provide the best possible fit for the wearer.

Another advantage of the invention is to reduce the number of garmentsizes, while assuring a wide range of fit to a considerable number ofpeople as though the number of sizes had remained the same.

Another advantage of the invention is to reduce the number of garmentsizes, while assuring a wide range of fit to a considerable number ofpeople as though the number of sizes had remained the same.

This application of the invention could be advantageous in specificsectors, besides sports, such as the military, the fire department,civilian emergency aid, in which special outfits are worn, and where itis now necessary to have different sizes available for the personnel, inorder to assure a satisfactory fit.

Due to this invention now the number of sizes can be drasticallyreduced, while guaranteeing a good fit by means of the connecting band.

Further characteristics and peculiarities of the invention will bebetter illustrated in the description of special examples of performancegiven indicatively, though not limitedly, and illustrated in theenclosed diagrams, where:

FIG. 1 shows the outside of the band of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the inside of the invention band;

FIG. 3 shows three different combinations of the invention band appliedto extra-large, regular or slender size person using the same garment ordifferent size garments;

FIG. 4 shows the invention band fastened to a pair of pants seen fromthe front;

FIG. 5 represents the same pair of pants seen from the back;

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show how the invention band is connected to a jacket inan outfit worn by persons of three different sizes, i.e. large, mediumand small.

FIG. 9 shows the back adjustment of the invention band to the jacket ofsports overalls when the position taken is essentially a standing one;

FIG. 10 shows the different way of fastening the same band on the samegarments in a situation in which the person's position is bent over;

FIG. 11 shows a variation of the blet in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 shows a variation of the invention band with a slide fastener tomodel the same band at the wastline;

FIG. 13 shows the FIG. 12 band modeled by the slide fastener action;

FIG. 14 shows the invention band applied to a sleeve to be connected toa jacket;

FIG. 15 shows distribution of the tabs on the band.

With reference to FIG. 1, it will be noted that the invention band,indicated on the whole as 1, is made of flexible material which could befor instance strong material or leather or even a plastic material.

The band in question shows a series of tabs 2 protruding upward andobliquely to the longitudinal axis of the band itself.

Corresponding to this tabs there are areas of so-called “male” Velcromaterial, as indicated in 3. This material is suitable for adhesion bypressure to corresponding areas of so-called “female” Velcro materialthat are present on the inside of jacket which with the pants makes upthe outfit. To improve the adjustment of the belt to the waistline, inthe example there are also some elasticized areas 4, in the event thematerial of which the band is made is not elastic as well. The inventionband has a zipper underneath 5, and, as can be seen in FIG. 4 and 5, forfastening of this band to the overalls pants.

Once the band is attached to the pants, it is clear that the connectionbetween the pants and therefore also between this band and the jacketcan be made in differnt positions, as may be observed in FIG. 6, 7, and8; it can be seen here, for instance in FIG. 6, where tabs 2 areattached to the corresponding areas of female Velcro 71 of the jacket 7relatively low, because jacket 7 is worn by a tall person. On thecontrary, in the event that instead, as in FIG. 8, the same jacket 7 isworn by a shorter person, obviously the connection between the tab 2bearing male Velcro and are 71 with female Velcro appears inverted inthe sense that the tab 2 is above and completely covers the area offemale Velcro 71 belonging to the jacket 7. The situation will beessentially balanced with a medium size person where the two tabsbelonging to the band and the jacket actually coincide.

Still looking at FIG. 4 and 5 it can be seen that the tabs of the bandwhich, in the example in FIG. 1, are three in number, are distributedtwo in the front and one in the back indicated with 2′. Tab 2′, in FIG.9, can be seen to be superimposed to the area of female Velcro of jacket7. This is due to the fact that in this case the motorcyclist is in anerect position since the handle bar is of the high type. On thecontrary, in the instance as observed in FIG. 10, where the motorcyclisttakes a position inclined over the handle bar, the position of tab 2′will be different, in this case lower with respect to the upper edge ofthe female Velcro 71 area on the jacket.

As can be seen the possiblility of adjusting both to different sizes anddifferent uses, is provided by the possibility of connecting indifferent ways the jacket to the band and therefore essentially thejacket to the pants.

In order to increase the fit of the invention band, the latter isprovided—as shown in FIG. 12 and 13 with one or more slide fasteners 21the length of which can be altered at will to obtain curvature of theband and therefore its correct adherence to the waistline. It can alsobe seen that the fastening of the band at the waistline is byoverlapping of the two tabs 22 which are also provided with male andfemale Velcro respectively.

FIG. 11 shows an enforceable variation of the invention band in which itcan be seen that the tabs projecting in an oblique direction to the bandare arranged in pairs as shown in 10 and 11, and what is more arepresent in both oblique directions with respect to the longitudinal axiswhere there is a zipper 30. This way the band, indicated as a whole with100, secures with its tabs both the jacket as well as the pants, and theoveralls are opened by the zipper 30 separating jacket and pantsrespectively. The presence of the zipper 30 also makes it possible touse just one part of the band, for instance part 8, to put only thejacket on, or just part 9 to put only the pants on. In this case thehalf band will simply be properly tightened at the waist before puttingon one of the two garments.

In FIG. 14 and 15 another interesting application of the invention bandis shown, in this case attaching a shoulder to the jacket.

More specifically, in FIG. 14 it can be seen that the jacket, nowindicated as a whole with 80, shows in correspondence with joint 81 ofshoulder 90, and inside the jacket itself, areas 82 with female Velcrosewn in. The sleeve 90 shows, connected by means of zipper 91, theinvention band now indicated as a whole with 92, which is provided withpairs of tabs 93 with male Velcro application.

It is evident that the sleeve 90 can be secured to the jacket 80 byaltering the shoulder joint, that is causing the sleeve to projectoutwards, or drawing it back in towards the jacket, and also with aslant of the sleeves according to the user's fitting requirements.

Needless to say also the length will vary according to where the jointis made, further outside or inside toward the jacket.

Thus also in this case a garment like the jacket is allowed greaterflexibility and better fit according to the person wearing it, withouthaving recourse to different sizes.

It is also important to observe that the invention band can be used withany article of clothing, even made of fabric, provided this garment isequipped with adequate fastening points or areas with Velcro or otherequivalent quick fastening device by adherence.

To be noted as well that the invention band also acts as a generalfastening device, that may be used in particular in the summer time orin city outings when the use of an outfit for instance made of leatherwould be hardly welcome and rather unpleasant.

It will consequently be possible to attach to the invention band tovest, jackets, ets. even of normal fabrics and in combination withleather pants. From the above, it would appear evident that all thepurposes of the invention have been attained.

In fact it has become possible to provide maximum fit to overallsequipped with the invention band even by people wearing different sizes.Consequently it is possible to drastically reduce the number of sizes tobe worn by different people.

It is also possible to combine different garments, even in differentfabrics and sizes, as long as they are provided with the suitablefastening devices to apply the tabs of the invention band.

What is claimed is:
 1. A connecting band between garments covering theupper and lower part of the body, that will close on itself and besecured to a garment or a part thereof, bearing a number of protrudingtabs on one side of the connecting band only in an oblique position withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the band that can be attached in aremovable way to at least one of said garments or part thereof by meansof pressure fastenings present in said tabs and garment, the other sideof the connecting band bearing a zipper connecting the band to thegarment.
 2. A connecting band according to claim 1, wherein the pressurefastening is comprised of a hook and loop fasteners.
 3. A connectingband according to claim 1, wherein said band bears between the tabs atleast one area made of elastic material that makes it flexible enough togive said tabs more convergence or divergence with respect to their restposition.
 4. A connecting band according to claim 1, wherein said bandbears in the essentially central area a linear and flexible slidefastener capable of modeling the basically linear shape of the band intoa curved shape making it adherent to the hips of the wearer.
 5. Aconnecting band according to claim 1, wherein said band closes on itselfby means of two superimposable tabs with hook and loop fasteners.
 6. Aconnecting band according to claim 1, wherein the tabs protruding in anoblique direction from this band are distributed in pairs spaced onefrom the other.
 7. A connecting band according to claim 1, wherein thetabs or pairs of tabs on this band are three, two of them in front andone behind in correspondence of the back of the wearer.
 8. A connectingband according to claim 1, for fastening together a jacket and pants. 9.A connecting band according to claim 1, for fastening together sleevesand a jacket.
 10. A connecting band between garments covering the upperand lower part of the body, that will close on itself and be secured toa garment or a part thereof, bearing a number of protruding tabs on bothsides of said band in an oblique position with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the band that can be attached in a removable way toat least one of said garments or part thereof by means of pressurefastenings present in said tabs and garment, and said band is dividedinto two parts by means of a zipper set along the longitudinal axis ofthe band.
 11. A connecting band according to claim 10, wherein thepressure fastening is comprised of a hook and loop fasteners.
 12. Aconnecting band according to claim 10, wherein said band bears betweenthe tabs at least one area made of elastic material that makes itflexible enough to give said tabs more convergence or divergence withrespect to their rest position.
 13. A connecting band according to claim10, wherein said band bears in the essentially central area a linear andflexible slide fastener capable of modeling the basically linear shapeof the band into a curved shape making it adherent to the hips of thewearer.
 14. A connecting band according to claim 10, wherein said bandcloses on itself by means of two superimposable tabs with hook and loopfasteners.
 15. A connecting band according to claim 10, wherein the tabsprotruding in an oblique direction from this band are distributed inpairs spaced one from the other.
 16. A connecting band according toclaim 10, wherein the tabs or pairs of tabs on this band are three, twoof them in front and one behind in correspondence of the back of thewearer.
 17. A connecting band according to claim 10, for fasteningtogether a jacket and pants.
 18. A connecting band according to claim10, for fastening together sleeves and a jacket.